THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015 | WEST HAWAII TODAY
8A
OBITUARIES
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Thelma Murphy
Thelma Matsuo
Murphy, 72, of Kaneohe,
Oahu, died May 27, 2015,
at Castle Medical Center.
Born in Kealekakua,
she was a librarian at
Kaneoha Public Library.
Friends may call at
noon June 21 at Hosoi
Garden Mortuary in
Honolulu for a 1 p.m.
service. Family requests
aloha attire be worn.
She is survived by
husband, Ted Murphy
of Kaneohe, Oahu; son,
Ian (Michelle) Murphy
of Honolulu; daughter,
Katherine (Jason Rider)
Murphy of Fort Collins,
Colo.; brothers, Henry
Mutsuo of Kona, Ronald
Matsuo of Japan;
two grandchildren.
Arrangements by
Hosoi Garden Mortuary.
Harry Castro
Harry Walter Castro, 86,
of Hilo died May 31, 2015,
at The Queen’s Medical
Center on Oahu. Born
in Hilo, he was a retired
concrete
block plant
operator for
Jas W. Glover,
member of St. Joseph
Catholic Church and a
Korean War Army veteran.
Friends may call at 9
a.m. June 22 at St. Joseph
Catholic Church in Hilo
for a 10:30 a.m. Mass.
Burial follows at Hawaii
Veterans Cemetery
No. 2. Family requests
casual attire be worn.
He is survived by
nieces, Leilani Aguiar,
Raymona Souza and
Lynn Wung, all of Hilo;
nephews, William Castro,
Harry Castro, Raymond
Castro, Gary Castro,
Wade Castro and Dan
DeLuz, all of Hilo.
Arrangements by
Dodo Mortuary.
Sandra Song
Sandra Eileen Song,
65, of Hilo died June 10,
2015, at Hospice of Hilo
Pohai Malama Facility.
Born in Chicago, she
was an attorney, retired
District Court judge,
a volunteer mediator
and board member of
Kuikahi Mediation Center
and member and judge
with the Hilo Orchid
Society and American
Orchid Society.
Friends may call at
4:30 p.m. June 22 at
Dodo Mortuary chapel for
a 6 p.m. service. Family
requests casual attire be
worn and no flowers.
She is survived by
husband, Jeremy Song
of Hilo; daughters,
Helen (Wes) Collins of
Waimea, Jill Song of
Kailua-Kona; son, Tim
(Kim) Song of Kailua-
Kona; sister, Marilyn
(Marc) Simon of Chicago;
brother, Allan (Maureen)
Pechter of Arizona; four
grandchildren; numerous
nieces and nephews.
Arrangements by
Dodo Mortuary.
Margaret Watai
Margaret “Honipua”
Watai, 72, of Kainaliu
died June 9, 2015, at her
residence. Born Jan. 13,
1943, in Honalo, she was
a cashier for Drysdale’s
II and a retired cashier
for Royal Kona Resort.
Private service were
held. Condolences
may be sent to the
family at P.O. Box 11,
Kealakekua, HI 96750.
She is survived by
husband, Alexander Watai
of Kainaliu; daughters,
Tracy Watai of Kainaliu,
Rory (Gerald Sr.) Kim
of Kealakekua, Rusty
(Allen) Brock of South
Kona; brothers, William
(Emaline) Hooper of
Puuanahulu, Gary Hooper
of Honalo; sister, Lena
Hooper of Kainaliu; 11
grandchildren; seven
great-grandchildren;
numerous hanai children,
nieces and nephews.
Arrangements by
Cremation Services
of West Hawaii.
DOE investigating allegations against
Honokaa High principal
The state Department of
Education has taken over what
began as an informal investi-
gation into complaints against
Honokaa High and Intermediate
School’s embattled principal.
Art Souza, superintendent of
the Honokaa-Kealakehe-Kohala-
Konawaena Complex Area,
placed Marcella McClelland on
leave in May after a prolonged
campaign by teachers and par-
ents to have her removed perma-
nently from the school.
Unrest over the princi-
pal’s management style boiled
over in March and April, with
McClelland walking out of a
contentious School Community
Council meeting, at which she
received criticism for allegedly
demoting qualified teaching staff
and replacing them with unqual-
ified teachers.
Last month, Souza said that
he was placing the principal on
leave both for her safety and
to calm the atmosphere at the
school as students, parents, fac-
ulty and staff prepared for the
end of the year and graduation.
But on Tuesday, Souza said that
as he continued to look into the
allegations against McClelland,
he decided to hand the investiga-
tion over to the state DOE.
“There’s no question there are
some very serious allegations of
mismanagement and financial
mismanagement,” he said. “In
my initial look at this thing, my
purpose was to see if we could
reconcile this. Subsequent to my
doing all that work, I decided at
this point we need to formalize
an investigation,” he said.
McClelland’s official sta-
tus with the DOE is now “on
department directed leave pend-
ing investigation,” he said.
Among their complaints, the
principal’s detractors say that she
placed teachers in classrooms
where they were unqualified to
teach. They also claim that the
School Community Council was
bypassed in the approval process
for the school’s academic plan
and comprehensive financial
plan for the next academic year.
“The principal was absent
from the February 2015 meet-
ing of the School Community
Council of Honokaa High and
Intermediate School. The princi-
pal canceled the March meeting,
walked out on two meetings held
in April, and was absent from the
May meeting. The council was
never presented a copy of the
Comprehensive Financial Plan.
Thus, there was no collabora-
tion nor was it approved by the
SCC. The academic plan, too,
was never approved by the SCC,”
reads a June 5 letter to Souza
from the SCC’s acting president,
Miles Okumura.
“If the academic plan and the
(Comprehensive Financial Plan)
have been submitted to you and
the Department of Education
by the principal, this has been
done without the statutorily
required approval of the SCC.
It would also be in violation of
Board of Education policies as
well as Department of Education
policies.”
Souza clarified Tuesday that
the school community council
should be afforded the opportu-
nity to see the plans before they
are forwarded to the DOE for
approval, but the body has no
power to approve.
“The School Community
Council has certain responsi-
bilities, including making a rec-
ommendation for approval, and
they should have a full oppor-
tunity to see the plans, but the
ultimate responsibility lies with
the principal. The SCC also has
no responsibility on personnel
decisions,” he said.
However, he said, “the SCC did
not have an opportunity to review
the academic plan before it was
submitted to me for approval. It
does have a right to review the
plan, and they can make recom-
mendations. They have a right
to review the plan and have the
opportunity to sign off. That has
not happened.”
Why that did not happen is
one of the things being investi-
gated, he added.
“There are many interpreta-
tions (of why the SCC did not
have the opportunity to review
the plans),” he said. “Some
would say that (McClelland)
walked out of the meetings. …
Some would say the meetings
were out of control, weren’t
facilitated well, and she found
herself under duress. Whatever
the reasons were for her leaving,
the plan was not reviewed by
the SCC.”
Souza said he had already
approved and submitted the plan
in April, “so I’m not sure what
can be done. I don’t know wheth-
er we’re going to reverse those
positions.”
Okumura said Wednesday he
was glad to see the complaints
against McClelland were being
considered by DOE investiga-
tors, although he lamented how
much time it had taken for the
process to reach this point.
“Realistically, an investigation
like this can take six or seven
months, and we realize that,” he
said. “So, that puts the school in
limbo. … (A temporary principal)
is burdened a bit by not knowing
if the past principal is return-
ing. That can affect the way they
make decisions. … We’re con-
cerned and worried that admin-
istrators will be hamstrung.”
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@
hawaiitribune-herald.com.
BY COLIN M. STEWART
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
Honokaa High and Intermediate School Principal Marcella
McClelland.
JOHN BURNETT/
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD FILE PHOTO
